As Americans’ wallets begin to feel the pinch of tariffs, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said the bill is about to expire.
“You’re starting to see some of the tariffs seep into some of the prices,” Jassy told CNBC at the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland. “Some sellers are deciding to pass on higher costs to consumers in higher prices; some are deciding to absorb the costs to drive demand; and some are taking steps somewhere in between.”
Jassy’s comments were a reversal from July, when he said the impact of tariffs on retail prices and consumption was being “misreported” and that it was too early to tell how the tariffs would affect prices. The statements came before President Donald Trump imposed “reciprocal tariffs” on dozens of countries in August.
In May, Jassy encouraged sellers to stockpile inventory ahead of tariffs and said Amazon would do the same to drive down prices. Most of the supply was used up by the fall, and now consumers are seeing higher prices, he said.
The tariffs raised $200 billion in revenue for the U.S. Treasury, but a recent study found that American consumers are bearing 96% of the tariff costs.
Jassy has previously said that tariffs may not be the worst-case scenario for all Amazon sellers. “I think when you have greater diversity like we have, we have a better chance of some of these sellers deciding they want to take a [market] “They are not passing on all or any of the tariffs to customers,” Jassy said during Amazon’s first-quarter earnings call last year.
The CEO said Amazon is working with distributors and its 2 million sellers to provide customers with the “lowest possible prices.”
wealth There were previous reports that some merchants on the platform said they were punished after raising prices in 2025, and sales dropped sharply. Sellers explained that Amazon has removed the “Add to Cart” or “Buy Now” buttons on its product pages, which most shoppers use to make purchases.
In the past, Amazon has suppressed easily accessible buy buttons to prevent price gouging or force brands to lower prices to match pricing on its own site or those of competitors. This tactic is the subject of an ongoing antitrust case against Amazon by the Federal Trade Commission.
Anthony Preston, owner of Wall Decals, a wall decal brand sold on Amazon, previously said wealth He was punished after raising prices on the platform by about $2, with average increases ranging from 5% to 10%. Preston sources products from China, and with tariffs added, his costs increase by 25%.
